How to make a braided rug – the perfect recycling craft

Making a braided rug is a fabulous way to recycle old textiles into a colourful mat. Use them as doormats, bath mats, placemats or trivets in your home.

In today’s fast fashion and consumerism world, textiles account for 22% of total global mixed waste. The average consumer in the UK and US wastes 30kg of materials each year. (60+ Shocking Fashion Industry Waste Statistics & Facts 2022)

This level of waste is unsustainable. While recycling is only part of the solution, re-using fabrics is one way to take individual responsibility for our waste.

Pen and Sword Books recently approached me to ask whether I would like to receive a copy of any titles in their new crafting series. I have a whole cupboard stuffed with old bedding, clothes and fabric, so a book explaining how to make a braided rug was the obvious choice.

Disclaimer: Pen and Sword Books supplied me with two copies of An Introduction to Rag Rugs – Creative Recycling free of charge. One to keep and one to give away to one of my readers.

About An Introduction to Rag Rugs – Creative Recycling

An Introduction to Rag Rugs – Creative Recycling is a fantastic book for anyone who loves crafting or wants to be more sustainable. As the title suggests, rag rugs are the perfect recycling project.

Starting with the history of rag rugs, this book contains some beautiful examples to inspire you before sharing the different techniques used to craft each type. All are easy to do; you need basic tools, fabric, and time.

An Introduction to Rag-Rugs: Creative Recycling by Jenni Stuart-Anderson retails at £14.99. To win a copy of the book, please enter the rafflecopter widget at the bottom of this post.

What you need to make a braided rug.

• Strips of fabric (see below for details)
• Needle and Strong Thread
• Scissors

I decided to make a rectangular rug to sit in front of our stove.

My finished rug measures approximately 80cm x 50cm, made from 20 braids.

Each braid is made from 3 strips that range between 7cm and 10 cm wide and between 100cm and 120 cm long.

I used a mixture of cotton and poly-cotton fabric for my braided rug. You can use old textiles such as bedding or clothing such as tee-shirts and denim to make rag rugs.

How to make a braided rug.

Start by cutting your fabric into lengths to be braided. I made 20 braids, so I used 60 strips of fabric.

To start, I sewed three strips together at one end to secure them, as shown in the photo below. In each group of 3 strips, I tried to include light, dark and bright coloured fabric to make a pretty braid.

Once I had braided the strips of fabric, I used a few stitches to secure the second end.

Once you have all the braids, arrange them into any order you like, with the best side of the braid facing up before sewing them together.

I hand sewed my braided rug together, working, so the stitching sat on the less neat side of the mat.

And here is my finished braided rug. As you can see, my cat is adamant that I lovingly crafted it for him. 

The mat probably took me about 4 hours to make and was very easy from start to finish. It’s the perfect craft for working on while sitting in front of the TV.

How to clean a braided rug

I know that my braided rug will need occasional washing now that the pets have claimed it. Since it is cotton-based, well sewn together, and small in size, I will be washing it on a gentle cycle in the washing machine. If you have a larger or vintage braided rug that you want to clean, you can find some great advice in this article How to clean a braided rug at home.

Win a copy of An Introduction to Rag Rugs – Creative Recycling

To win a copy of An Introduction to Rag Rugs – Creative Recycling, enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway is open to all my readers, wherever you live, as long as I can post it to you from the UK. I will notify the winner within 24hours of the giveaway ending via email. The winner must claim their prize within 72hours, or a new winner will be selected. Best of luck!